BMW PGA Championship Leaderboard, Preview, TV Times

The European Tour heads home to Wentworth this week for the circuit’s flagship event. Alex Noren is defending champion in the BMW PGA Championship.

BMW PGA Championship Leaderboard, Preview, TV Times

The European Tour is in England this week for the circuit’s flagship event. Sweden’s Alex Noren defends the BMW PGA Championship over the West Course at Wentworth.

Alex Noren is defending champion

This week sees the 64th edition of the PGA Championship and it has attracted a stellar field including Rory McIlroy. The Northern Irishman who won the 2014 edition of this event, hasn’t played since 2015. McIlroy is joined in the field by Englishmen Tommy Fleetwood and Paul Casey. Other star entrants include: 2017 Scottish Open winner Rafa Cabrera Bello, Branden Grace, who closed with a 62 in Texas last week, and defending champ Alex Noren.

This event will be the first of this year’s Rolex Series. Each of the eight tournaments in the series will offer a minimum prize fund of $7 million and that is what’s up for grabs this week.

It will be the 38th time the PGA Championship has been hosted over the West Course at Wentworth and the 35th year in succession – dating back to 1984. In that time winners over “Burma Road” have included Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Seve Ballesteros and Colin Montgomerie.

Bernhard Langer was champion three times

Last year, Alex Noren produced a brilliant final round of 62 that included an incredible eagle three on the home hole. As the rain started to fall, nobody could match Noren’s total and the Swede was champion.

The West Course at Wentworth has been revamped over the years with the most recent changes following advice from Thomas Bjorn, Ernie Els and Paul McGinley. All the greens were reseeded for last season and the 8th, 11th, 14th and 16th greens completely reshaped.

All of the bunkers were redesigned and rebuilt, 29 of them removed. The objective of the alterations was to reinstate the playing characteristics Harry Colt envisaged when he originally laid out the course.

The weather looks like being fine with just a small chance of rain on Thursday. Conditions should be pretty good.